Notice of Plan Benefits
(Defined Benefit Plan Termination)

Summary

Use this Notice of Plan Benefits to notify participants in a terminating defined benefit plan covered by Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of the plan benefit that is due to the individual and the distribution options available to them at or after the plan's liquidation. This template contains practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. As part of the plan wind-up process of an ERISA defined benefit plan, the plan administrator must send a notice of plan benefits (NOPB) to all affected parties (i.e., each plan participant, beneficiary, and alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO)) no later than the date on which the plan administrator files Form 500 Form 500 "Standard Termination Notice Single-Employer Plan Termination" with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). ERISA § 4041(b)(2)(B) (29 U.S.C. § 1341(b)(2)(B)); 29 C.F.R. § 4041.24. The NOPB is often sent at the same time as the Notice of Intent to Terminate the plan required under 29 C.F.R. § 4041.23. The content requirements for the NOPB are set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 4041.24(b) and depend on the situation of the participant, beneficiary or alternate payee. Alternate clauses are provided for several of the possible scenarios: (1) the individual is not in pay status and has not made a form of benefit election, (2) the individual is in pay status, (3) the individual is not in pay status, but has made a benefit election that has not commenced, or (4) the individual is subject to an automatic cashout of plan benefits. For guidance on NOPB delivery requirements, see Defined Benefit Plan Standard Terminations — General Rules for Issuing Notices. For more information about the standard termination of a defined benefit plan, including step by step rules to satisfy PBGC filing requirements, see Defined Benefit Plan Standard Terminations and PBGC Form 500 Standard Termination Filing Instructions. For a model plan termination notice, see Notice of Intent to Terminate (Defined Benefit Plan) For all related content concerning plan terminations, see Retirement Plan Terminations and Suspensions Resource Kit. For a full listing of key content covering retirement plan notification requirements, see ERISA Retirement Plan Notices Resource Kit.